Chapter 18

"Absolutely not!"

I whined. I would have given Dad my cute face, but if my previous attempts were anything to go by, he was immune. Must have been that manly Chief aura. The same couldn't be said for Gobber, who was shielding his eyes with his forearm.

I gestured at the window. "Dad, it's night out there. Nobody's going to see him. Come on, he's a dragon! He needs to get some fresh air."

"Hiccup, we are on an island filled with Vikings who would rather kill dragons than enjoy each other's company. Under no circumstances is Toothless, or Sneaky, allowed to leave this room."

"But –"

He put his hand up. "End of discussion.

I sighed as Dad and Gobber left the cabin. He was right. If someone even caught a glimpse of Toothless, we were dead. But I was right, too. Dragons weren't just your regular animal. They were creatures of flight, used to going wherever they pleased. Being locked in a room all day was not good for their health, and I knew Toothless enough to know that if this continued, he would bust out on his own. Then, we would definitely be dead.

I went through the facts. Toothless needed to get out. It was night, so we would both be hidden. No one would be expecting two Night Furies to roam around the island. And a good portion of the Vikings were probably drunk. So, if we were careful, we should be okay. The main problem would be getting past Dad.

I needed a distraction. And I knew just who to ask.

"Gobber, are Ruffnut and Tuffnut having a stick-fight on the boom?"

"Why, yes, Stoick! I think they are."

"Are those sticks on fire?"

"Yep."

" . . . Did they just light the sail on fire."

"Oh. That might be a problem."

As I heard everyone run forwards to stop the fire, I leapt at the cabin's doorknob, and wrestled it open. Under the cover of the darkness and all the shouting, Toothless and I snuck out and shut the door behind us.

I hopped on his back. "Next stop, freedom!"

He flew high above the village, so that he could study it without being seen himself. Along with the darkness, there was lots of smoke from bonfires to keep us invisible. I could hear music and laughter even from up here; night-time at these meetings was the time of fun and entertainment.

I just happened to glance sideways then, and noticed we weren't alone.

"Sneaky? How did you . . . right. Super-fast, super-sneaky dragon."

Sneaky trilled to himself as he rode the wind currents.

"Too bad we can't be down there," I said. "They probably have some Roman stuff down there . . . Toothless? Toothless, wait!"

Hearing my lament, Toothless had decided to take the only reasonable course of action and land. We ended up behind a crown of brambles by the edge of the village; close enough that I could make out individual tones, far enough away that we fell beyond the range of the light. There was no bonfire here, but a couple of torches were mounted into the ground on either side of a small stage. Upon that stage, was a man, and I was immediately struck by, well, how weird he was.

How weird? Well, he had no beard. And no moustache. Or whiskers. Or anything. I don't think he even had sideburns. If he were my age, it would have been fine, but he was definitely older. Not to mention I had always been rather odd by Viking standards, anyways. Alas, this man had managed to replace his beard with blue markings on his chin. Finger paint? No idea.

I said, "This tribe is so weird."

"Romans? Sure, I know Romans," the not-at-all-hairy man was saying to a small audience. "Disgusting creatures. They're scared of their own shadow. Haven't got an ounce of fight in them unless they're soldiers."

Echoes of disgust rose up. I cringed in sympathy for the Romans.

"Isn't he wonderful?"

I nearly screamed. Ruffnut reached over and pulled me to her, so that our cheeks touched. "I could just listen to him all day . . ."

I pulled away from her, and backed into Toothless.

My expression must have conveyed my confusion, because Ruffnut and said, "Hiccup, we usually spend the half the day spying on people. Obviously, we know where to find people who are doing the same thing."

We? I looked to my right, to see Tuffnut sprawled on the ground with Sneaky lying across him. He raised his hand. "Surprise. Your dad's mad, so we're laying low."

"Not like that's inconvenient." Ruffnut sighed. Her chin fit nicely in the 'V' created by her hands. "Oh, Eret, son of Eret, you are the man of my dreams."

"Ugh, gross!" Tuffnut shuddered, as if every inch of him was physically affected by Ruffnut's words.

"Right," I said. "I think we'll just be going now . . . Sneaky?"

Something shiny in the audience must have caught his attention, because at some point, Sneaky had scampered up to the edge of the darkness. One more step, and he would be wreathed in red firelight. Not that he cared much. It wasn't like the people around that fire were bloodthrisy, dragon-hating, season fighters or anything . . .

Oh, wait. They were.

But before anything could happen, Toothless sprung. His paw slammed down on the Terror's back, squashing him. He dragged Sneaky back to safety and then, with his paw still pinning him, let the plates on his face flare and snapped at the Terror's nose. You, stay.

Got to remember that one.

The dragons and I skirted around camp, gliding in out of the shadows. When the coast was clear, Sneaky - provided he had Toothless's approval – would charge and grab some shiny thing or another. Pretty soon, I was wearing a lovely jewelled necklace, and had a cuff bracelet for each leg. I had put a necklace on Toothless, too.

"Too bad he didn't grab the jade instead of the ruby one. Would have gone better with your eyes. But I guess we'll just have to settle for red. Oh, well." I flicked Toothless's necklace. "You can thank the Raiders for this. Or the Romans, I suppose. Same idea."

Toothless growled and tapped the necklace with a claw. He was convinced it would come alive and bite him.

Sneaky suddenly perked up. His nostrils widened as he inhaled deeply. You could almost see his eyes glaze over as he followed the scent of food. I smelt it a moment after: fish.

Near one edge of the village, there were Vikings, my age, gathered around a small cooking fire. I couldn't detect the scents of anyone from our tribe. It was more crowded than Toothless should have been comfortable with, but he had always been a sucker for a quick snack. He sent Sneaky in, and not ten seconds later, the Terror was back holding a fish bigger than his head. Though Sneaky arched his back and tried to defend his prize, Toothless tore it away from him. He ripped off the head with his jaws and handed that to the Terror, ate another third of it himself, and handed the rest to me.

Don't mind if I do.

As we chowed down, a hornpipe wailed from the center of town. I could hear a rebec, too, although that was soon drowned out by a dozen drunk voices, none of which were in tune with any of the others. Clearly, this would be one for the ages.

"Look at us," I said. "Listening to music, eating with friends, wearing fancy Roman jewellery . . . It's like we're throwing the party here."

Toothless grunted. He licked the ground, hoping to find some remains. Then, his head swung around. I peered into the dark. Even now, I could still recognise the spiralled horns of Snotlout's helmet.

Although Snotlout couldn't have seen us, he suddenly froze. He was staring at the fire, or more probable, the people around it. He pivoted around on his heels – just like I would, actually – and set off in the other direction.

But not before he was seen.

"Hey, Snotlout! We were just talking about you."

"Great." His tone said it was anything but.

"The Raiders said you aren't allowed to be at the meeting. That true?"

Snotlout said nothing, but I could smell the sudden tension that rose from him.

Someone laughed. "Gees, even when Hiccup's not here, you're still second-best."

They laughed wildly, with the kind of enthusiasm that I associated with the crazy Berserker tribe. Snotlout had spun around, and his whole body had stiffened and rose like a serpent about to strike.

I actually felt bad for him. I knew Vikings could be rough on each other –believe me, I did. I even knew that oftentimes, Fishlegs was the target. Snotlout, though? I wouldn't have expected it. He was 100% Viking.

"So, if you're second-best to Hiccup the Useless, what does that make you?"

I couldn't stop the very real snarl that escaped my throat. Luckily, Toothless had the sense to squash the air out of my lungs while he snapped at me to Stay.

In the middle of the laughter, Astrid and Fishlegs had wandered up the path. Fishlegs only needed one glance before he was keeping a careful distance from Snotlout. But Astrid was different. She didn't know the meaning of the word fear.

"Come on," she said, sounding as though Snotlout was a stubborn child throwing a tantrum.

"Astrid!" someone called. "We were wondering where you were. You're welcome here."

I felt a great well of satisfaction when she refused to acknowledge him. I stuck my tongue out at the other Vikings as I secretly followed her -

What? That's not creepy. She's my girlfriend. It was my job to make sure that she . . . that she wasn't ambushed by a bat or something. They can be dangerous. Phlegma was bitten once. I think it left a scar.

"Every time, Snotlout." Astrid was marching ahead of the two boys, her steps heavy and brisk. "Can't you just get over yourself and let it go? Hiccup is the heir, not you. Deal with it."

"That's easy for you to say," Snotlout shot back. "People treat you like you're a god."

"And maybe there's a reason I'm still treated that way and you're not."

Snotlout muttered something. Whatever it was, it made Fishlegs flinch and back away with his hands raised.

"Uh, I'm going to look for the twins," he said, before darting off into the bush.

Astrid turned around slowly. With each second, you could almost taste the silence grow bitterer.

"What did you say?" she grated out.

"I said you're only important because of Hiccup!" They stood nose-to-nose, sparks flying between their eyes. "You wouldn't be getting all this special treatment if it wasn't for him. You're no better than me!"

She crossed her arms over her chest. "Why don't you save us the trouble and admit you're jealous?"

"Fine. You know what, I am jealous. I'm jealous that you get everything handed to you just because you kiss my cousin."

Rather than upset her, Astrid seemed to grow more smug with Snotlout's outburst. "Say whatever you want. I know I've earned my place in the tribe."

She started to walk away, but Snotlout wasn't done yet. He raced ahead of her, and then turned, jogging backwards as to keep in front of her. "The chiefs don't even know your name, Astrid. You're just Hiccup's girlfriend to them."

Her face twitched. For a moment, that smug confidence was replaced by uncertainty. Quickly, with all the swagger of a pure-blooded Viking, she recovered, but that note of unease remained in her scent.

"At least they know who I am," she hissed.

"I'm serious," Snotlout said. "I hear them talk to each other; they don't use your name. They don't even care –"

It wasn't anger I felt. Anger was too weak and passive. No, this thing I experienced was too strong for anger, too potent. It was alive, and before I could even blink, wrestled away control of my body and launched it at Snotlout.

I bit down on the first chunk of flesh I found and shook. I wanted him hurt. Snotlout needed to learn. There were some things you couldn't say. Not in front of me. He yelled, as did Astrid. Her distress rattled my already strung nerves and I bit down harder until I tasted copper. It dripped down my throat, gathering into a swirling, hot ball in my chest.

Fire.

The tightening of my fire-breathing muscles jolted me back to my senses. My throat relaxed, letting me breathe again. My tongue was coated with Snotlout's blood.

"Hide!" Astrid shoved Snotlout into the forest that I had come from. She tore me off his leg, bundling me up in her arms as we plunged into the woods. Meanwhile, Vikings from the cooking fire I had watched earlier walked up the path where we had been before, searching for the source of the screams.

When we were safe, she shook me. "What were you thinking?"

I said nothing. I couldn't. The only sound I could make was a deep growl.

Snotlout rubbed his leg. In the faint light, I could see the blood glistening. "That hurt!"

Good.

Astrid thought so, too. "You deserved it."

"Why? Because you can't handle the truth?"

He spoke too loud, too aggressively. The step he took toward us was too bold. And then Toothless was there beside us, his green eyes flashing as he bared his teeth in warning. Snotlout backed away – anyone who was anyone knew to fear the Night Fury. Before he left, he looked me in the eye. Everything he wanted to say was engraved in his face. It was one I wouldn't forget for a long time.

"Toothless?"

Well. We were busted.

Oh. Here comes Sneaky.

"Hiccup, you know they were supposed to stay inside!"

I did my best to shrug. Whoops.

She groaned. Sneaky purred and rubbed against her cheek. I whined.

"Just make sure you're not seen, okay? Promise me."

I nodded energetically, and placed my paw over my heart.

She squinted. "Is that . . . is that a bracelet?"

A twig snapped. When the wind turned our way, I knew it was only a hare, but part of me had still thought it was Snotlout coming back for round two, and I snarled. Astrid looked at me, shocked, before she figured out where my thoughts were going.

She stroked my head. "It's fine, Hiccup. Snotlout's just being an idiot. He's mad that people aren't falling over themselves for him. That's all. He's just jealous."

But her heart started to pound.

Firmly, she repeated, "He's just jealous."

I pressed close to her, trying to will her heartbeat into slowing.

"He knows I wouldn't be second-in-command in the Dragon Academy unless I deserved it. You always choose the best person for the job. Right, Hiccup?" Her voice cracked a bit on that last word.

"I do," I whispered, wishing she could hear me.

We didn't stay out much longer. The mood had died. Dad and most of the others were drunk, so it wasn't too hard sneaking Toothless and Sneaky in. There was awkwardness between me and Astrid after that, one that I would have only been able to fix with my voice.

"I'm going to turn in for the night," she said, not really facing me.

"Oh, okay. Sweet dreams."

With her gone, and Toothless and Sneaky back in Dad's cabin, I was suddenly alone. I could smell that Snotlout and Fishlegs had been here recently. They'd probably retired, too. The smoke-tinged smell of the twins from earlier was still present, but stale enough that I knew they were still out there. I couldn't smell any non-Berkians.

I bathed in the moonlight. Wasn't quite like sun-bathing. Much colder. Bottles clinked and Vikings hollered as I laid there. In a way, surrounded by the drunken sounds and smells of my fellow Vikings, it felt a lot like home.

Then I heard the twins. They were whispering and jostling each other as they tiptoed onto the ship, avoiding the older Vikings. They moved oddly enough that I knew they had found some mead of their own, although judging by the smell, not as much as Snotlout had by his return. One of them crept over to Dad's cabin, and opened it a bit to check whether the dragons were there.

I chirped at them.

"Hiccuuuup!" Yep, definitely a bit of slurring. I hoped they wouldn't trip or fall into the water. "How was your secret adventure?"

"Not going to be much of a secret if you keep talking that loud," I grumbled.

They sauntered over. I say 'sauntered' because they were moving with these big steps that made me worry they would fall over halfway through. Tuffnut hit me with his foot. "Where is everyone? Haven't seen them since Fishlegs decided he was too lame to drink with us."

"So lame," Ruffnut agreed. "It was free, too."

I took that with a grain of salt. I wouldn't be at all surprised if the Raiders were offering free drinks, but I also knew that the twins tended to refer to their 'borrowed' goods as free. As if nobody could figure out what they really were referring to.

"By the way, nice jewerly."

Yes. They were quite nice, weren't they?

"So, where's your girlfriend?"

I tapped the deck with my claws.

"Fishlegs?" (Tapped the deck again) "Snotlout?"

I tapped the deck, but couldn't quiet the instinctive growl.

Tuffnut smirked. "Somebody's mad."

"Bet Snotlout couldn't keep his mouth shut," Ruffnut said. "He's been grumpy ever since we got here."

I leapt to my feet. "Yes, I know. He was yelling at Astrid earlier and –"

They couldn't understand a single word of my rant. But seeing how their eyebrows rose and Ruffnut inched back, it must have sounded impressive. When I ran out of breath, there was a loud silence as all of us struggled to find something to say.

Being the genius he is, Tuffnut decided on: "Wow."

I bared my teeth, and dug my claws into the deck.

Ruffnut took a seat on the rail. "Snotlout's been a jerk lately, but I guess I feel a little bad for him. Must have been rough going from being the best to nothing."

I needed more than a few sounds to ask my question this time. Fortunately, the twins' earlier stunt with fire had left some ash on the deck, and I was able to blacken my claws and write using that.

What are you talking about?

Tuffnut shrugged. "You know. All of us used to look up to him. Except Astrid. But everyone wanted him to succeed your dad. Like, everyone."

My ears flattened. I didn't need that reminder.

"But then the Red Death thing happened, and our dragons came along, and now you're the one everyone respects. Snotlout's just the pathetic guy who can't control his dragon."

"Plus, you grew up." Ruffnut's grin made me squirm. I really would have liked it if Astrid was here to protect me. "So, now all the other tribes are sure that you'll be chief after Stoick. Snotlout's pretty much the back-up plan. He tried hard to hate you for it."

Tried? I wrote.

"He's pretty much over it," Ruffnut said. "I'm sure he decides to hate you again from time to time, but you're a hard person to hate now. You're too nice."

Tuffnut rolled his eyes. "Tell me about it. Remember Mildew?"

Ruffnut snorted. She deepened her voice, and said, "Hey, Mildew. It's me, Hiccup. I love dragons. I know you're a traitor and got me and Toothless captured, but you look really sad. Why don't I tell you all my big, dark secrets about training dragons, who I love. Do you love dragons? Because I do."

I grumbled. "That's flattering."

Tuffnut said, "You forgot the part where his leg falls off."

I sighed and let my chin hit the deck.

sweettea1: Thank you! And don't forget that a flaming sword is manly too :)

Jazz: Yes, I did. The wiki is a wonderful resource.

Yeah, I know I've heard of Chief Hagan too, but I have no idea where. I feel like I've used him before or something.

Shojobaby: Thank you!

Guest: Hiccup wouldn't be up for that, but I bet that how the twins would try to sell it.

Seriously? I didn't know that. I knew that he and Hiccup were okay with each other, but I wasn't aware that Thuggory and Snotlout didn't like each other. I'll keep that in mind for the future (You can take what he said in the last chapter to be a taunt then :p )

It's not so much that Hiccup doesn't know, more so that he doesn't like to acknowledge that part of him. The best way to put it is that he sees Hiccup the Useless and his present self as separate beings, and he doesn't like reminders of who he used to be. He also hasn't realized that quite a few of the Vikings outside Berk still see him as that awkward, wimpy teen.

a random person: Still working on that! XD

f: But of course!